EPISODE 10

AFTER 735 DAYS I'M FINALLY FREE

Described by North Korea as the most dangerous American they've ever imprisoned, Kenneth Bae talks about spending 735 days in a forced labour camp. He chats with us about faith, grilled cheese sandwiches, becoming a counsellor to his guards and Dennis Rodman.

SEASON 1

Described by North Korea as the most dangerous American they've ever imprisoned, Kenneth Bae talks about spending 735 days in a forced labour camp. He chats with us about faith, grilled cheese sandwiches, becoming a counsellor to his guards and Dennis Rodman.

Cleopatra Kambugu is an activist and Uganda’s first out transgender woman. She joins us this week with her main squeeze, Nelson, to talk about her experiences and struggles, LGBTQ culture in Uganda, and Jerry Springer. [Episode 9 Transcript]

Zahra Haider created a shit storm when she wrote an article for VICE about having premarital sex in Pakistan. This week, Zahra repsonds to her haters, thanks her supporters, and squashes rumours that she's an Indian spy. [Episode 8 Transcript]

We've received a lot of questions about our hosts recently. Who are they? Why do they do this podcast? Why are their names so hard to pronounce? This week, Amar and Gilad bare their souls... to each other. [Episode 7 Transcript]

In 2002, a mountain biking accident left Luke Anderson with significant paralysis. Since then, he founded StopGap Foundation and turned his injury into a mission to create barrier-free cities. Luke talks to Amar and Gilad about access, empowering language, and finding his new normal. [Episode 6 Transcript]

Playwright, singer, theatre director, and youth educator Tanisha Taitt is a survivor of violence. She shares her thoughts on gender conditioning, the Jian Ghomeshi verdict, the Democratic presidential race, and living beyond labels.

Adil Charkaoui spent two years in a Quebec prison as a terror suspect. He was never charged with a crime. After five years of house arrest and two Supreme Court victories, he was finally freed in 2009. We caught up with Adil to talk about Islamophobia, racism in Quebec, and men with swords.

Filmmaker Rama Rau talks to us about cyberbullying, rape culture, victim blaming and what it was like making No Place To Hide, her documentary about the Rehtaeh Parsons story.

Angel Cordero spent thirteen years in prison for a crime that another man confessed to. He talks to us about coming home, rebuilding his life, and his ongoing fight for justice.

Enoch, a North Korean refugee, describes what life was like under the regime, his journey across the ice cold Tumen River, the challenges he now faces as a refugee, and the bright lights that convinced him it was all worth it.

ABOUT

The Hum is a podcast that cuts straight to the heart of human rights stories. Raw, honest and uncensored, from the people who have lived them first-hand.

Real people. Real stories. Every Wednesday.

THE TEAM

GILAD COHEN(Host & Producer)@akaGiladGilad is an artist, human rights advocate and founder of JAYU, a non-profit that uses art to share human rights stories. Gilad has been actively involved in the human rights scene since 2006. Feeling the need to raise more awareness in his own community, Gilad launched JAYU in 2012, using art as the main vehicle. Gilad has been invited to speak on human rights in media and several platforms including CTV, CBC, The Globe and Mail, Al Jazeera America, and the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in 2012. In 2015, he was selected as Rothschild Fellow through The University of Cambridge in the UK.

AMAR WALA(Host)@amarwalaWith his debut feature The Secret Trial 5 (2014), Amar Wala established himself as a daring new voice in Canadian cinema. A graduate of York University's acclaimed Film program, he believes deeply in cinema's ability to create awareness and facilitate social change. Passionate about both documentary and narrative film, Wala's dramatic work has also garnered high praise at home and abroad. Cameron Bailey, Director of TIFF, named Amar one of Toronto's Top Ten Filmmakers in 2008, for his short film The Good Son. The Secret Trial 5 received the 2014 Magnus Isacsson Award at RIDM, as well as a Jury mention in the Emerging Filmmaker category at Hot Docs. The film would also be named one of Now Magazine's Top Ten Films of 2014.

KATY SWAILES(Producer & Editor)@katyswailesKaty is a filmmaker and audio producer based in Toronto. She is the writer/producer of the feature documentary film Voices of Silence, about domestic violence in Bangladesh, and associate producer/story editor of The Ravenite, a documentary film about the Gambino crime family's social club in 1980s New York. By day she is the associate producer of Writers & Company, a weekly literary program on CBC Radio One and SiriusXM Radio.

ALLISON MEADS(Assistant Producer)@AllieEllieMAllison is a social justice advocate with a background in research and writing. With experience in topics ranging from employment equity to the Canadian justice system, she has an interest in bringing contemporary social justice issues to a wider audience through creative media. By day, she also works at a local Toronto tech start-up that focuses on internet privacy and security, a role which melds her passion for both social issues and technological innovation.

SARAH TAM(Social Media Coordinator)@ sarahtamhlSarah specializes in international development practice with an emphasis on promoting socially, environmentally and economically sustainable projects. She has worked for NGOs in Uganda and Morocco as well as in Sri Lanka where she focused on market research and program implementation. Now that she’s back in Canada, you can find her gearing up for her graduate degree at the University of Waterloo, sweating up a storm during yoga, finding ways to help her obese beagle lose weight, and catching up on House of Cards.